Teddy (full name rumored to be Teddy Junior, the 3rd)[1] is one of the main characters in Mother. He lives in Ellay, where he is the leader of the infamous Bla-Bla Gang.

Teddy is normally the fourth and last character to join Ninten's party, although he can be the third character to join Ninten if the player gets to him before reaching Ana. It should be noted that it is not a necessity to have Teddy join Ninten's party in order to finish the game.

Physical appearance

Teddy weighs 78 kg and is 188 cm tall.[2] He has black hair in the shape of a mohawk, with visible sideburns below his ears; although his hair appears to be colored red in his battle sprite. He appears to have muscular arms and a muscular torso, and a prominently pointed chin. He wears a pair of red eyeglasses, a red sleeveless shirt, a pair of yellow trousers supported by a black belt, and a pair of red, white-bordered shoes with white laces; his trousers do however appear slightly more brown in his battle sprite. Additionally, he appears to have three black dots marked on his left arm in his battle sprite, possibly resembling tattoos.

Teddy is the only main character in Mother who does not share any notable physical features with the main characters of the game's sequel. The only major similarity he shares with the fourth possible party member in EarthBound is that both he and Poo wield swords.

Personality and other characteristics

Being the leader of a criminal gang, Teddy shows several typical properties of one. He displays violent behavior, already having taken a liking for fighting at the age of five, and frequently smokes. Already as a toddler, his behavior was similar to that of an adult, and he often carried around a package of chocolate cigarettes with him. He is however said to have been more mild-mannered before the death of his parents.[3] He likes to sing,[4] play guitar and listen to light rockabilly performances at the Live House, an example being the Blue Suede Shoes.[5] Teddy possesses some of the best stats among the playable characters of the game, featuring the best HP, Offense and Speed. His main weapons are knives and swords, a trait being partly succeeded by Poo in EarthBound.

Among his favorite things are his guitar, his cigarettes, his sunglasses, his leather jacket, his pet iguana, and his book on E. Yazawa.[5][6] He occasionally plays on his guitar while being inside his room, where he quietly hums on a ballad along the sound of the guitar. It is implied that he got the sunglasses when he was looking in a store for a pair, and when the store was revealed to not be selling any, he punched out the front teeth of the store owner, who in obligation took a pair of glasses and named it "Teddy Glass" after the one who had attacked him, and thereafter sold it to him. His leather jacket does he prefer to not wear, hinted to be because of his dislike of spending time with his fellow gang members; the jacket does instead act as a memento of his father after his death. He got the pet iguana from one of the rivaling criminal groups, the Jet Lizard Gang, after a fight where the Bla-Bla Gang was victorious. The Jet Lizard Gang swore allegiance to Teddy after the incident, and gave him the iguana to prove it; despite his dislike of it, Teddy ended up raising and taking care of the iguana. The autobiography by Eikichi Yazawa, a Japanese musician, was sent to him by one of his fellow gang members, Koyano. In spite of the fact that he does not understand Japanese, he can feel the message written within.[5][6]

History

Teddy was named after the car repair factory of his parents, which went under the name "TEDDY". Already at the age of three did Teddy display more adult-like properties, where he also used to carry around a package of chocolate cigarettes. He started to enjoy fighting at the age of five, and at the age of ten he surpassed 170 cm in height and switched his chocolate cigarettes to real ones. He was eleven years old during the first time he arrived home in a patrol car, and when he was twelve years old, lied and said that he was twice his actual age to take up a graveyard shift at the Live House. He used his wages to purchase a Siamese cat to his parents as a present at the age of thirteen, and became the leader of the Bla-Bla Gang when he was fourteen.[5]

During the events of Mother, Teddy first meets Ninten in the Live House after the party's musical performance, where he challenges him to a fight, accusing Ninten of beating up some of his gang members. After a few turns, Teddy stops fighting and deems Ninten a strong person, asking him to travel with him for a while. He wants to go to Mt. Itoi to avenge his parents that were killed there, and takes Ninten and Ana up the mountain, taking Lloyd's place.

While going up Mt. Itoi, the trio rest at a cabin on the mountain plateau. However, during their stay, they are attacked by a massive robot. Teddy got severe injuries after the ambush, while Ninten and Ana make it out safely, due to a lucky save by Lloyd and his borrowed tank. He is left to recover at a healer's house near Mt. Itoi's base for the rest of the game.

After the game's events, Teddy is shown to have recovered from his injuries, and is confirmed to be daily singing at the Live House. In the original Japanese version of Mother, however, the extended ending is omitted, which left his fate ambiguous. However, Mother 1+2, released in Japan, added the ending sequence that was added to the English prototype.

Teddy is battled under the name B.B.'s Boss in the Live House after the party's performance, where he first compliments them on their song, and then asks them if they were the ones who had injured his fellow gang members. Despite what the player chooses to answer, Teddy will still believe that they were the ones who did it, and fight them. The battle will however only last for three turns, as he gets impressed by Ninten's ability to fight, calling the match a draw. He explains how he seeks vengeance for his dead parents and that he wants them to assist him, and does subsequently join Ninten's party, where he takes Lloyd's place, doubting in his ability to fight.

Teddy's enemy sprite shows him holding a knife in the Japanese Famicom version of Mother, though it was removed in the English prototype and Mother 1+2 port.